Saturday, July 9, 2016

Friday's 11-game All-Summer League Team

Labeyrie plays wild and free

Louis Labeyrie was the most efficient player on a winning team during play Friday in the 2016 NBA Summer League. Eleven games were contested with action in Orlando coming to a close just as the Las Vegas games began. Labeyrie had 14 points, 12 rebounds, and two steals in just 16 minutes of playing time for the New York Knicks summer team. They sunk the Clippers 106-77. With eleven games in one day, making our daily All-Summer League team was tougher than normal. As always, we acknowledge efficient play, first and foremost. It is VITAL to understand that most humans will only see highlights on ESPN or NBA-TV. The producers at those media outlets are always quick to show you the top lottery picks, and how they fared. Kris Dunn, for instance, was excellent Friday. But other lesser known players balled too. Dunn dazzled with his ball-handling ability, making an instant-classic Vine where he shook Jakarr Sampson out of his shoes. But what you may not have seen is that Dunn missed the shot. So - style points are just that. And this is not a shot at Dunn at all. I love his game. He was crazy good Friday night against Emmanuel Mudiay. But as good as Dunn was he had the fourth most efficient game among all the point guards that played Friday. Ron Baker was slightly more efficient, and he will not be on our daily All-Summer League Team either. Joining Labeyrie on the Hoop Obsession / BasslineSpin.com All-NBA Summer League Team for Friday, July 8, 2016...Shayne Whittington - Pacers. 12 points (5-7 FG, 1-1 3-pt., 2-2 FT), 5 rebounds, 3 blocked shots in 16 minutes. ...The Pacers beat the Orlando Blue team 85-79. Devin Booker (Clemson) - Knicks. 13 points (4-9 FG, 5-5 FT), 8 rebounds, 3 steals in 21 minutes. D'Angelo Russell - Lakers. 20 points (7-12 FG, 1-1 3-pt., 5-5 FT), 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals in 29 minutes. ...The Lakers easily handled the Pelicans 85-65. Okaro White - Orlando Blue. 11 points (5-8 FG, 0-1 3-pt., 1-2 FT), 7 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 blocked shots in 22 minutes. Bryce Cotton - Hawks. 14 points (5-11 FG, 4-6 3-pt), 7 rebounds in 17 minutes. ...The Hawks downed the Rockets 83-78. Diamon Simpson - Cavs. 7 points (3-5 FG, 1-4 FT), 6 rebounds, 4 steals, 6 blocked shots in 19 minutes. ...The Cavs lost to the Bucks, 81-75. Ramon Galloway - Hornets. 25 points (9-13 FG, 2-4 3-pt., 5-5 FT), 5 rebounds, 4 assists in 27 minutes. ...The Hornets lost to Dallas 97-92. Andrew Harrison - Grizzlies. 23 points (5-11 FG, 1-5 3-pt., 12-12 FT), 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals in 25 minutes. ...Memphis erased the D-League Select team 99-79. Fred VanVleet - Raptors. 6 points (2-5 FG, 2-3 3-pt.), 6 rebounds, 3 assists (zero turnovers) in 17 minutes. ...The Raptors embarrassed the Kings 88-47. Brandon Davies - Pistons. 7 points (3-4 FG, 1-2 3-pt.), 5 rebounds in 17 minutes. Axel Toupane - Nuggets. 8 points (2-3 FG, 1-1 3-pt., 3-4 FT), 3 rebounds in 16 minutes. Notes: Denver Nuggets guard Gary Harris looked noticeably more lean. Hard work and a better diet shows me that Harris is serious about his craft; not that we ever doubted the former Michigan State star. Nevertheless it is good to reaffirm that Harris is a real professional. ...The Kings game was ugly. Really ugly. Their summer team is woefully ill-equipped to battle compared to the way most franchises have built their rosters for Las Vegas. The Kings rolled out seven raw rookies and were promptly blasted by Toronto. Sacramento's 47 points were the lowest total for a Las Vegas NBA Summer League game since 2008. The Chinese National team matched the futility of the Kings eight summers ago. ...Four players had really bad days. Two of them were part of the Kings group. These four all had per-minute efficiency ratings at or below "zero": David Michineau (Clippers), Brandon Fields (D-League Select), Retin Obasohan (Kings), and Ricky Ledo (Kings). ...Usually if a player posts a BasslineSpin.com game efficiency rating of .750 or higher it is good enough to make the daily All-NBA Summer League team. However, with so many games on the slate, many who were over .750 were left out. The following guys fit the description of "over .750 but not on the daily best-of team:" Ron Baker, Jabril Trawick, Norman Powell, Victor Rudd, James Kelly, Branden Dawson, Jakob Poeltl, Arinze Onuaku, and Goodluck Okonoboh.